Archive for August, 2016

Being back in the “trenches” of health

Posted August 31, 2016 By Frank Strona

Wrapping up a 3 day State of Michigan HIV and STD conference in Traverse City on a high note but tired. I was asked to present on integrating technology into public health and comprehensive HIV/STD prevention and linkage to care.

I had forgotten how real ground level statewide conferences can out shine some of the national level ones; presenters actually get time to present versus cramming five distinct themes at 12 minutes each on a panel going against five other panels.
Or seeing diversity in the experiences of the voices; including academic and clinician based content balanced against local level and health communicators content that includes front line worker presentations which has huge contextual value often lost to “hard science” biased national conference content.

Well worth the trip to share some of what I spend so much time on but with an audience that was so eager to hear and implement and question.

Like other national trends at conferences,  PrEP played a big role at this one although because of the rural nature there was a lot of smaller communities here in Michigan that are just beginning to figure out PrEP and how to add it to their discussions. Another big observation was a solid integration that “STD prevention is HIV prevention” and that HIV prevention/treatment as prevention can’t outshine the need for solid STD efforts. An unfortunate  byproduct of reduced spending in some programs which had STD efforts playing “second fiddle”  to the more popular (and better funded) push towards “getting to zero” local and nationsl HIV strategies. 

Filed in Engage! Post

Introduction to Social Media Strategy from General Assembly

Posted August 13, 2016 By Frank Strona
Introduction to Social Media Strategy from General Assembly 
Sep 26 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, tickets $35

225 Bush Street, 5th Floor (East Entrance)
San Francisco , CA 94104

 

From the GA website: https://generalassemb.ly/education/introduction-to-social-media-strategy

About This Class

Geared for first time entrepreneurs, community managers or people building companies via social media, this workshop will help you learn how to create and engage a community on Facebook and other social media networks. We know first hand how hard it is to start something from scratch, and try to grow a business. Through some simple concepts and leveraging free tools, you will get started and automated in the social space so you can focus on your business without neglecting your community.

Takeaways

  • Create a posting calendar (similar to an editorial calendar)
  • Automate and link social networks through free tools
  • Design sharable content for sites like Pinterest, Instagram, Reddit, and other networks
Filed in Events, Upcoming

Thinking behind promotion your digital content

Posted August 9, 2016 By Frank Strona

While catching up on reading during my vacation; I came across this post on the “State of Digital” site;  5 Top Tips for Promoting Digital Content. It’s author. Jack Telford presents 5 promotional methods that suggests ways to improve how your digital content gets expanded and reaches out further.

The essential tips include strong basic methods used in a wide range of marketing ad research that play well with online content, I have added a few supporting comments for context and caveats based on my experience to his well framed 5 tips.

  • Use existing forums & groups
    • Many of us join these, especially in the beginning or as an end of a networking campaign -but the nuance is how to navigate them and make them a tool with out crossing the line to being that “troll” who posts and run
  • Content Creation (FREE or complimentary)
    • Don’t forget the old school newsletter and newspapers. Many of them are hungry for content and will also let you choose the topics. His suggestion to remember the “click me” factor is huge for building traffic. C reading off-shoots of your work/material such as free downloadable templates, surveys, personal assessments or even a customizable infographic are all ways to expand your product by sharing and allowing it to be adaptable for others. (How you choose to ask for credit is a personal decision)
  • Build and “use” your contributors
    • If you re lucky enough to have people contribute (or if you are paying them to do so); they have a network that you want to make sure they reach out to. Instead of just emailing them the link, draft a short email and take a few minutes to mention 1 or 2 strengths that the contributor offers, compliment etc. That will add to the credibility of them, and make it more likely they will forward it out to the membership and elists they use. When ever possible; add pictures of the contributor to add impact.
  • Share it with the media
    • Building a media list is always a organic action -it changes often and you may want to keep in mind that having more than one contact within the same outlet allows different eyes and frames to see your content.
    • This is a great starting activity with newly formed coalitions of same or like professionals an share the list with routine updates.
  • Put some planning into a social strategy
    • Planing is always crucial. From the business plan and strategic planning to creating your media and content mapping plan. Many folks get stuck in that once they see it written, the stop seeing it as flexible and organic. If you fall into that category – instead of using spreadsheet formats, consider using a mind mapping software, or even adapting cloud based presentation tools like Prezi.com or other non-traadtional ways to collect and organize your material and steps that make it easy to adjust as needed. Some folks find use of google apps makes this easy and allows for rotating content as well.

 

 

Filed in Engage! Post, Tips & Hints